The story of how our era of brutal partisan warfare began

When Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, President Obama observed that Trump "is not an outlier; he is a culmination, a logical conclusion of the rhetoric and tactics of the Republican Party." In Burning Down the House, historian Julian Zelizer pinpoints the moment when our country was set on a path toward an era of bitterly partisan and ruthless politics, an era that was ignited by Newt Gingrich and his allies.

Elected to Congress in 1978, Gingrich quickly became one of the most powerful figures in America not through innovative ideas or charisma, but through a calculated campaign of attacks against political opponents. His crusade against Democrats culminated in the plot to destroy the political career of Speaker Jim Wright, which catapulted Gingrich into the national spotlight. From the rise of the Tea Party to the Trump presidential campaign, Gingrich's fingerprints can be seen throughout some of the most divisive episodes in contemporary American politics. Burning Down the House presents the alarming narrative of how Gingrich and his fellow Republicans seized power and created a new normal in Washington.

Story Locale: Washington, D.C., Texas, Georgia